The present invention has been developed for its particular applicability to the application of retroreflective adhesive tape product to road barriers, such as those known as"Jersey" barriers. These road barriers typically include vertical or nearly vertical side surfaces, and are arranged end to end to make a road barrier having vertical side wall surfaces that extend for an indefinite length.
For improved visibility of the barrier, particularly at night, it is often desirable to apply a horizontally running stripe of retroreflective material along its vertical sidewalls. Such retroreflective material may be applied to a series of barriers as discrete lengths of material, or may comprise a horizontally running continuous strip of indefinite length.
In either case, the application of retroreflective material provided in the form of an adhesive tape product has been fairly labor intensive. This is especially true in the case of applying a continuous adhesive tape product over a number of barriers positioned end to end for an indefinite length. The sidewalls of the barriers typically do not match up perfectly, so at the barrier interfaces, compensation must be made for the undulations between the adjacent surfaces. In any case, the adhesive tape product must be adequately secured to the barrier sidewall by the even application of sufficient pressure over the length of the adhesive tape product that is applied. It is also desirable that the retroreflective tape be applied at a consistent and predetermined height based on a number of factors in order to achieve the desired visibility. Thus, care must be taken to apply such a retroreflective adhesive tape product in a specific predetermined manner.
Heretofore, retroreflective adhesive tape product has been applied to the sidewalls of road barriers by a manual labor intensive process. The basic steps include cleaning the sidewall surface of the barrier; measuring and marking where the adhesive tape product is to be applied to the barrier; applying a primer to the barrier for improved adhesion; applying the adhesive tape product to the barrier in accordance with its marked position; and applying even pressure over the adhesive tape product, such as by a hand held roller, to improve the adhesion between the tape product and the barrier. Not only is the application process itself labor intensive, but this type of process also limits the size and weight of the tape provided in roll form which can be handled effectively by an operator. Moreover, such adhesive tape product is typically provided on a liner, thereby requiring the operator to also strip the liner material from the tape during the application process.
Tape applicator devices including operator controlled taping heads of many varieties have been developed for specific types of application processes. Moreover, it is known to apply many different types of tapes with taping heads both manually and automatically. Automatic operations normally involve the provision of stationary equipment that includes a taping head through which product can be run so that tape is applied thereto. Examples include the application of adhesive tapes to continuous and/or indefinite web lengths, or the discrete application of tape segments to a series of individual specific products. Manual tape applicators are often used in situations requiring more operator control. That is, where the operator decides where to position the tape and how much tape to dispense. Examples include applicators designed for work in the field or on very large objects.
Automatic machines, however, have been developed in the area of applying retroreflective adhesive tape product for the application of road stripes to pavement. Developments have been made in both continuous and the discrete application of such retroreflective adhesive tape product. Examples include a push-type mechanical device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,173 to Steneman on Dec. 30, 1980, and a Self-Propelled Pavement Marking Tape Applicator disclosed in copending and commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/704,196, filed Aug. 28, 1996. In these type devices, retroreflective adhesive tape product is applied to a substantially horizontal surface.